Cotton-picking finger.



PATENTED JUNE y14, 1904.

J. F. APPLEBY. COTTON PIGKING FINGER.

APPLIOATION FILED DEO. 14, 1903.

' N0 MODEL.

Ink@ for Ey n' @fw/y tueJJeSa-- MA MM TH: cams frans no, PNOYMIYHQ, wnuwam Patented June 14, 1904.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN F. APPLEBY, OF CHICAGO, lLLINOlS.

COTTON-PICKING FINGER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 762,606, dated June 14, 1904.

Application filed December 14, 193. Serial No. 185,089. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern.:

Be it known that I, JOHN F. APPLEBY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful lmprovement in Cotton -Picking Fingers, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

My invention relates to cotton-picking fingers, and has for its object the provision of an improved construction of such lingers whereby the machine-'work thereon may be greatly reduced and which at the same time will prove a high-ly eficient instrumentality in removing' cotton from cotton-plants in the lield. i

As is well known to those skilled in the art there is one class of cotton-picking machines wherein a plurality of vertically-disposed shafts are provided, each for rotating or driv-` ing a set of cotton-picking lingers that are thrust into the plants and withdrawn therefrom as the machine proceeds over the lield. These cotton-picking fingers having in one type of machine been in the form of tapered members longitudinally grooved, pickingteeth -being provided upon the lingers, the grooves in the fingers margining the teeth and forming in association therewith pickingbarbs or lint-gathering bars. This construction of the picking-fingers is somewhat expensive and is not on all occasions as eliicient as desirable. The teeth upon the fingers of the prior art are inclined to the axis of the fingers at an angle, say, of forty-live degrees, the teeth sloping from the base of the linger toward its apex. 1n the lingers of the prior art the lower ends of the teeth of each set are margined with a groove to afford at these lower ends picking-barbs which are the ad- Vance portions of the teeth as the lingers are rotated and as they are thrust into the bush, the teeth being advanced into the bush by the combined fact of the rotation of the lingers and the bodily thrusting of the lingers into the bushes. By means of my invention I am enabled to provide these picking-barbs upon the lower ends of the teeth without the necessity of g'rooving the lingers.

mation of the teeth thereon.

Generally speaking, my invention comprises in its preferred embodimenta pickinglinger preferably tapered as far as is practicable without making the fingers too weak at their points, these fingers being preferably convex in every cross-section before the forln accordance with my invention teeth are struck up from each finger, preferably at a very acute angle to the axis of the linger, the cutting tool or element being so operated as to not only strike up the major portion of each tooth, but also to form in the lower end of each tooth (that end nearer the point ofthe linger than the base thereof) a picking-barb, which in the preferred construction is a gradual continuation of the upper marginal portion of each tooth, which continuation terminates in a sharp point that slightly overhangs all of the lingers to constitute a lodging or engaging place for the cotton-lint. The upper end of each tooth (that end nearer the base of the linger than the point thereof) is preferably unprovided with any barb formation, the upper marginal or ridge portion of each tooth gradually sloping down to and merging' with the normal periphery of the linger. By this construction a barb of much better formation is secured than with the prior construction and one which not Yonly will gather cotton-lint with great efcacy, but from which the cotton-lint may readily be stripped, as the upper ends lof the teeth, being free of barbs, readily permit the stripping of the lint. The lingers of the prior art have been faulty in their operation upon frequent occasions, as will be readily understood by those practically 'skilled in this art, as such fingers when subject to the action of the stripper would not always read ily release the lint. A

I will explain my invention more fully by reference to the accompanying drawings, illustrating' the preferred embodiment of the invention, and in which- Figure l is a plan view of a cotton-picking linger constructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view of a portion of the finger on an enlarged scale, showing a group of teeth. F1g. 31s another view of the portion shown 1n Fig. 2 in the d1rect1on of IOO arrow 8. Fig. l is a view of the portion shown in Fig. 2 in the direction of arrow 4. Fig. 5 is a sectional view on line 5 5 of Fig. 2.

Like features are indicated by similar' characters of reference throughout the diliercnt figures.

The base L of the linger is preferably of uniform diameter at the threaded portion and for a distance from the threaded portion somewhat in excess of the length of the threaded portion to enable the linger to have suitable bearing within the machine and to facilitate the proper action of the stripping-lingers. Slightly before the sei-rations in the linger are reached the tapering of the linger is commenced, this tapering being gradual from the point of commencement to the apex or point c of the linger. The point of the linger is desirably made slightly blunt at (l to prevent injury to the plant and is sharply tapered for a short distance at e to facilitate penetration of the linger within the plant. The serrations or teeth 71 are preferably conlined to a space along the linger having straight boundary-lines extending longitudinally of the linger; but this arrangement is not essential to all embodiments of my invention, and, in fact, one advantage secured by means of the invention is that such close regularity and uniform arrangement of the teeth is not as essential in the construction of my. invention as with the lingers of the prior art, thereby cheapening the cost of the labor. The teeth also are preferably-inclined at uniform angles with respect to the axis of the linger. The linger is desirably of circular cross-section at every point, except of course where the teeth are struck up, the latter being' without the general cross-sections of the body portion. Where theV teeth are struck up, the bases f of the teeth are below the periphery of the linger. These baselines f are preferably straight, while the upper ridges g of the teeth are preferably curved, the upper ends of each ridge gradually approaching the normal periphery of the linger and merging therewith, so as to be free of barbs, so that the linger may readily have the lint stripped therefrom after the linger has left the cotton-plant. The lower end of each tooth, however, on the contrary, is not gradually merged with the periphery of the linger, but rather over-hangs the same a slight distance in the form of picking point or barb 7i, this point overhanging a slight distance, which distance, however, is sufficient in the practical operation of the lingers to grasp the lint and strip it from the plant.

A great advantage of my construction, wherein the barbs project in an angular plane to the axis of the finger and overhang the periphery thereof, resides in the fact that when the linger is projected into the bush the barbs project substantially in the plane of axial rotation of the linger and also substantially within the plane of bodily movement of the finger when the same is being projected into and passing through the cotton-plant, resulting in a most effective action upon the open bolls, which constructions of the prior art are incapable of effecting.

It will be observed that the barbs, while generally projecting in planes oblique to the axis of the picking-linger and the length of the picking-linger, also project in planes that are substantially tangential to the curvature of the linger.

It is to be understood, of course, that when the finger is rotated to engage the cotton-lint it is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 1. After the finger has been withdrawn from the plant its rotation may, if desired, be stopped, whereafter the strip? ping-lingers may remove the lint, as is well understood.

I have not deemed it necessary to illustrate the embodiment of the linger of my invention in an organized cotton-picking machine, as such a disposition of the linger will be readily understood by those skilled in the art.

I believe it to be broadly new with me to provide a picking-linger whose teeth are located without the general periphery or contour of the finger, so as to be always in position to engage with the cotton-bells. Particularly do I believe it to be new with me to have such teeth overhanging convex or uncut-away portions of the body of the picking-linger.

I do not wish to be limited to the precise construction shown; but,

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. A cotton-picking linger of solid construetion tapering from a base portion toward its apex having its body convex, and provided with integrally-formed teeth thereon and inclined with respect to the axis of the linger, the upper edges or ridges of the teeth merging gradually with the periphery of the linger at the ends of the teeth nearer the base of the linger and being without and directly overhanging the convex periphery of the linger at the ends of the teeth nearer the apex of the linger to constitute picking-barbs, said barbs projecting in planes angular to the axis of said linger, substantially as described.

2. A cotton-picking finger of solid construction tapering from a base portion toward its apex having its body convex, and provided with teeth integrally formed thereon and inclined with respect to the axis of the linger, the upper edge or ridge of each tooth merging gradually with the periphery of the linger at one end and being without and directly overhanging the convex periphery of thelnger at the other end of each tooth to constitute a barb, said barbs projecting in planes angular to the axis of said linger, substantially as described.

3. A cotton-picking linger of solid construc- IOO tion tapering from a base portion toward its apex having its body convex, and provided With teeth integrally formed thereon, said teeth being without and directly overhanging the convex periphery of the finger to constitute picking-barbs, said barbs projecting in planes oblique to the axis and length of said finger, and substantially tangential to the curvature of the finger, substantially as described.

4. A cotton-picking finger of' solid construction having its body convex, and provided with integrally-formed teeth thereon and vinclined with respect to the axis of the finger, the upper edges or ridges of' the teeth merging gradually With the periphery of the finger at the ends of the teeth nearer the base of the finger and being Without and directly overhanging the convex periphery of the finger at the ends of the teeth nearer the apex of' the finger to constitute picking-barbs, said barbs projecting in planes angular to the axis of' said finger, substantially as described.

5. Acotton-picking finger of solid construction having its bod y convex, and provided With teeth integrally formed thereon and inclined with respect to the axis of the finger, the upper edge or ridge of each tooth merging gradually with the periphery of the finger at one end and being Without and directly overhanging the convex periphery of' the finger at the other end of each tooth to constitute barbs, said barbs projecting in planes angular to the axis of said finger, substantially as described.

6. A cotton-picking finger of solid construction having its body convex, and provided with teeth integrally formed thereon, said teeth being Without and directly overhanging the con- Vex periphery of the finger to constitute picking-barbs, said barbs projecting in planes oblique to the axis and length of said finger, and

y substantially tangential to the curvature of finger to constitute picking-barbs, said barbs projecting in planes oblique to the length of said finger and substantially tangential to the curvature of the finger, substantially as described.

8. A cotton-pickingfingor of solid construction tapering from a base portion toward its apex having its body convex, and provided With teeth integrally formed thereon and inclined with respect to the axis of the finger, the upper edge or ridge of each tooth merging gradually With the periphery of the finger at one end and being Without and directly overhanging the convex periphery of the finger at the other end of each tooth to constitute a barb, said barbs projecting in planes oblique to the length of said finger and substantially tangential to the curvature of the finger, substantially as described.

9. A cotton-picking finger of solid construction having its body convex, and provided with integrally-formed teeth thereon and inclined With respect to the axis of the finger, the upper edges or ridges of the teeth merging gradually with the periphery of' the finger at the ends of' the teeth nearer the base of the finger and being Without and directly overhanging the convex periphery of the finger at the ends of' the teeth nearer the apex of the finger to constitute picking-barbs, said barbs projecting in planes oblique to the length of said finger and substantially tangential to the curvature of` the finger, substantially as described.

lO. A cotton-picking finger of solid construction having its body convex, and provided With teeth integrally formed thereon and inclined With respect to the axis of the finger, the upper edge or ridge of each tooth merging gradually with the periphery of' the finger at one end and being Without and directly overhanging the convex periphery of the finger at the other end of each tooth to constitute barbs, said barbs projecting in planes oblique to the length of said finger and substantially tangential to the curvature of the finger, substantially as described.

In Witness whereof I hereunto subscribe my name this 10th day of December, A. D. 1903.

JOHN F. APPLEBY.

Witnesses:

Gr. L. CRAGG, A. H. CRAWFORD.

IOO 

